Pokemon TMX : Menace Anew (Part 4)
by Cypherwerf
Summary: Series continuation. The gang goes to Celadon. What sinister happenings await there for them? Find out, and more...


**Pokemon TMX : Menace Anew (Part 4)**

Disclaimer :

Pokemon is owned by Nintendo and Gamefreak. I have no claim to it whatsoever.

I have a question… maybe somebody can enlighten me. What's the colour of Misty's eyes?? Blue? Black? 

Please Review. C&C much appreciated. [yulai@singnet.com.sg][1] or [cypherwerf@hotmail.com][2]

~-~

**Team Rocket's Celadon City hideout!**

"…and that's why we're here." Ash finished relating the reason of their being in Cerulean City to Misty. He had also told her about the attacks by the giant Nidorina and Zubat, as well as Andrea's side of the story. Thus finished, he looked grimly at her.

Misty's eyes flashed. Her face assumed a stony expression. "How could anybody ever do such a thing? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ash, Misty, Brock and Andrea had gone over to the pokecentre after their meeting. It was getting late in the evening and the Waterflower sisters had just closed the pokemon gym. Daisy, Lily and Violet had gone over to the beauty salon for their weekly manicure. Misty had wanted to rejuvenate her pokemon after a long day of battling at the pokemon gym. Ash and Brock thought it was a good idea too, as they had to rejuvenate their pokemon after their recent encounter with the giant Zubat. On the way, they had filled Misty in on their journey. Right now, Ash and Misty was perched on a couch, discussing how the matters stood as they waited the return of their pokemon. Andrea was standing nearby, toweling off her hair, as she was still wet from her recent dunking. She grimaced in annoyance as she pulled out her soaked hairband, releasing her pony tail. Brock was leaning against the wall, with an equal distance between him and Andrea and Nurse Joy on either side. He was practicing abstinence and self restraint. As Andrea tossed her hair from the confinement of the wet hairband, Brock sweated. He moved an inch in Andrea's direction.

Ash coughed. "Actually Misty, we stopped over at Cerulean city with the intention of asking you along. We've discovered that most of the TMX treated pokemon had have some mysterious affinity with the fire element, and your water pokemon would be a great addition to the team. Besides," He added quickly. "It'll be nice to have you along again." He looked hopefully at Misty. 

Misty smiled. "Sure. Daisy, Lily and Violet could manage the gym. It'll be fun to travel again." She gave a slight grin. "Besides, you'll definitely need my help anyway. It's way too much for you to handle without me."

The words came out from between Ash's lips before he knew it. "Is not!"

Misty shot back"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Andrea paused in her toweling of her hair and arched an eyebrow at Brock. Brock just slumped a bit more against the wall. "Get used to it. They always do it. Cute couple thing. Anyway, don't ever get between them."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Ash had the next retort on his lips, but then suddenly he paused. "_Why am I doing this?_" He thought to himself. He scratched his unruly hair and gave Misty a sheepish smile. "Sorry, got carried away a bit there I suppose. We haven't done that for quite a while have we. Anyway, we probably couldn't do without you. It's great that you're coming along."

Misty blushed. Her face reddened. "Uhh, yeah. Thanks. That's very sweet of you Ash. I apologize too. I guess I got carried away somehow." They both paused, inevitably staring in each other's eyes, slightly perplexed expressions mirrored on their faces. 

Brock was shocked. He whispered to Andrea who was looking at him questioningly. "Usually they go on for a few hours before someone stops them. This is something new.."

They continued staring for a long while. Brock and Andrea looked on in both amazement and amusement. Presently, a small light flashed. A pokemon rejuvenation machine opened, revealing a number of pokeballs and Pikachu. Not waiting for Nurse Joy, the yellow electric pokemon hopped out of the rejuvenation machine and came running to where they were waiting. He stopped in front of the couch and gave a small energetic chirp. "Pika pi! Chupi kachu!"

Pikachu got no response from Ash and Misty. They were too deep in their thoughts, in an almost trance-like state as they stared in each other's eyes. Pikachu waited. Nothing happened. It looked from Ash, to Misty, then back to Ash. Question marks appeared, hovering above his head. It stood there for awhile. Pikachu decided to take matters into it's own hands and began powering up the electric sacs in his cheeks.

Brock, recognizing the warning signs, decided to intervene as there was apparently something special going on between Ash and Misty and he didn't want it to be interrupted. He grabbed Pikachu. "Now, Pikachu … YeoH!!!!!" Just as Brock wrapped Pikachu, Pikachu released a few hundred volts of electricity. For those few moments, Brock and Pikachu were entangled in a mess in the floor. They glowed yellow, pulsing with electricity, flashing for those few moments. Finally it stopped. Pikachu relaxed. Brock was charred. Andrea gasped. Ash and Misty remained oblivious. 

Andrea walked over to Brock. "Are you ok? That looked like it hurt." She inquired. She shook her head as a blackened patch from his frayed vest dropped off.

"Pika…" (Sorry Brock). The yellow mouse scratched his head with a bashful look on his face.

"I…It's ok….." Brock groaned. "_Ash, you owe me big time._" He thought.

Just then Nurse Joy walked over with a tray of Pokeballs. "Excuse me, your Pokemon are fighting fit." She beamed a smile as she recited. "Bye now. Come back soon." She deposited the Pokeballs and walked away. Brock had another moment of indecision as Nurse Joy walked by. His eyes flashed back to Andrea. He collapsed down to the floor again. Ash and Misty finally broke out of their trance and picked up their pokeballs. They cast a glance at the charred Brock on the floor. "Uhh. Did I miss something here?" Ash asked.

Andrea coughed. "Umm nothing important." Changing the subject, she said "Didn't you want to make a call to Professor Oak, to tell him about the Zubat attack?"

Ash sighed. He turned serious. "I would. But it seems that we haven't actually made very much progress. We haven't really found out anything on how TMX actually causes a pokemon to become so ultra powerful, or actually learnt any weaknesses they have, despite the fact that two TMX treated pokemon have been battle already."

Brock scrambled to his feet. "We do have one clue though. No matter what type they are, all TMX treated pokemon can perform fire attacks, which suggests some affinity to the fire element."

Andrea looked on thoughtfully. "My father once said to me, that part of why he refused to work for Team Rocket was because of some cruel experiments they performed on fire type pokemon around Cinnabar. Fire type pokemon are naturally aggressive, and generally have some powerful attacks. So they had an easier time isolating the source of this aggression and power, to study it. Then they created their own artificial counterparts of these biochemical elements and concentrated it, to create TMX. Since they modeled TMX from the behavioral hormonal discharges of aggressive fire pokemon like arcanines and charizards, TMX caused the treated pokemon to draw their power in a similar manner of fire pokemon, and thus they gained powerful fire based attacks."

Andrea frowned. "I also heard that they had some sort of TMX batching plant in Celadon city. Their Cinnabar base had it's own production plant, but it received occasional dispatches from Celadon."

Misty concluded. "In any case, that's where we're going to investigate. If we can waylay one of these dispatches for analysis, or break into the base itself to shut down their operation, it would go far in our bid to stop this TMX madness."

~-~

Ash gave a call to Professor Oak to update him on their progress and also to pass on Andrea's information. They then stayed the night in Cerulean before moving on to Celadon where they would investigate the probable location of a Team Rocket base, as well as maybe check up with Jesse and James, who were ex rocket members and had set up a pizza parlor in Celadon. They were ex-rockets and could probably give some insight into the rocket organisation. Professor Oak could provide no further clues from his researches back in Pallet. The only information that he could provide was that the Zubat which they had fought had apparently been spotted a few more times. It was suspected that the Zubat was probably taking refuge in one of the many caves in the Mount Moon area.

There was however, one alarming development. After sending the crazed Nidorina to the Pallet Laboratories, Team Rocket had apparently upped their tempo in their bid to use their super pokemon to gain control of Indigo Island. Rumors were spreading like wildfire throughout the country of sightings of giant pokemon. Very few people could be seen out alone after dark. Stories of giant pokemon with huge gnashing fangs and bellowing oceans of fire were about everywhere. It was the talk of the tabloid papers and the magazines. Professor Oak had confided grimly that this had made it extremely difficult for them to follow up leads on giant pokemon sightings as people all over had their imagination played with and submitted false sightings unwittingly. There were hundreds of different sightings each day. So far the search had proved negative, and Team Rocket was doing a good job in it's attempt to bring fear and intimidation to the people. Time was running out and they needed to learn more about these TMX treated pokemon fast, before everybody was in panic.

With this bleak thought in mind, the team set off to Celadon the next day.

~-~

As they neared the outskirts of Celadon city, they came across a small boy wearing a trainer cap in the midst of the long grass. He was holding a pokeball in hand, and obviously battling a wild pokemon.

Ash smiled as he looked at the boy facing a wild pokemon. The boy wore his trainer cap backwards. In a way, he reminded Ash of himself in his younger days. The boy was battling a Victreebell. He hadn't called out his own pokemon yet. Ash frowned. There was something wrong with that Victreebell.

Brock sidled up to Andrea and said. "That boy had better watch out. Victreebells are known to be vicious." Ash, Misty and Brock smiled, as they remembered James, ex-Team Rocket, who had a Victreebell who would never obey him, but would instead clamp on his head every time it was called out of it's pokeball.

Misty looked at the boy. "That boy looks as if he's just a beginner trainer. There's no way he will be able to catch that Victreebell."

Ash felt the sudden strong sense of dread reemerge. "Guys, I think there's something wrong with that Victreebell…"

Immediately, they stopped in their tracks and watched.

Misty noticed it first. "It looks as if it's… drooping. Weak. Somehow". At once, they saw. 

Victreebells were known to be very aggressive pokemon. They were easily angered, and needed a lot of pampering and cajoling before they could be gotten to obey it's trainer. They were very strong pokemon, the 3rd evolution of Bellsprout. It was very rare to capture a wild Victreebell, not only because it was hard to find and quite strong, but also because of their natural aggressiveness and will to fight. A Victreebell would fight until it's fainted, never giving a chance for the trainer to throw a pokeball to catch it, unless it was severely paralyzed or frozen. Victreebells defended their freedom from trainers tooth and nail, as they mostly disliked being kept in a pokeball.

Now, this Victreebell looked… limp. It's leaves were drooping, yet not yellowed, but instead a pallid green colour. It's branches looked as if it lacked support, and it looked sapped of it's energy. It's huge form looked frail, exuding none of it's natural aggressiveness and energy, instead behaving as if it had lost it's will to fight. Even the razor sharp teeth failed to convey a feeling of menace, so lackluster and jaded was it's attitude.

As the quartet watched, the boy, seeing the condition of the pokemon, decided that there was no need to call a pokemon out. Instead, he just tossed an empty pokeball at the Victreebell. The red laser engulfed the Victreebell, capturing it inside it's confines. The pokeball hardly twitched, but instead, immediately lay still on the ground, signifying a successful capture.

"That's weird.." Brock pondered, mystified. "That Victreebell hardly put up a fight."

They continued the rest of their journey to Cerulean City very much worried.

~-~

The party entered the Celadon City Pokecentre. They collectively gasped at the sight

There were pokemon everywhere. Ash could see Oddishs, Sandslashes, Ponytas, tentacools, rattatas, almost every single type of pokemon. The pokemon centre was extremely crowded. There was an extremely long line of trainers queuing up to get their pokemon treated at the counter. Nurse Joys and Chanseys were running about everywhere, trying to perform their tasks. On all the trainers faces were mostly a look of worry and concern over the pokemon. Ash took a look at a group of nearby Beedrills. They looked alright to Ash, however, Ash noted with concern that they exhibited the same symptoms that the wild Victreebell had. It's antenna was drooping, and the normally uptight and ferocious pokemon looked withdrawn and vulnerable, as if it had lost it's whole zest of living and energy. Ash noticed the boy who had caught the Victreebell enter the pokecentre and join the queue.

Andrea tapped the shoulder of a nearby trainer who had a worried expression on his face and who was cradling a Paras. "Umm, excuse me. What's going on here? Why are there so many trainers here and what's wrong with all these pokemon?"

The trainer turned around and faced Andrea. The gang could see the Paras that he was holding was exhibiting the same kinds of symptoms as the wild Victreebell and most of the pokemon that the trainers in the pokecentre was going. The worried trainer spoke up. "It's this startling new affliction that is affecting some of the wild pokemon around Celadon city. Some unknown cause is making all the wild pokemon weak and almost lifeless. All these trainers, including me, have caught these affected pokemon and have rushed them here to the pokecentre to be treated. However, it seems that these pokemon don't respond to any kind of normal treatment. All the Nurse Joys are puzzled. The pokemon don't seem to be sick or physically unwell. They don't even seem happy, unhappy or otherwise. They're just… emotionless. Hopefully, this mystery will clear up soon.." He stroked his Paras. "I wouldn't want my Paras to live the rest of it's life in this state. It doesn't even seem to care about itself.."

Misty shook her head in sympathy. "That's terrible.." She reached her hand out to give the Paras a small pet. However, the Paras didn't even respond in anyway. It didn't even blink.

~-~

The four trainers managed to deposit their pokemon with a Nurse Joy after a short wait. They decided that they would rejuvenate all their pokemon so as to ensure that they would be in tip top shape before they went out in search of the Team Rocket base in Celadon City. Their pokemon would need all the energy they could get in the event where they came up against another one of those giant pokemon. However, due to the long waiting list at the pokecentre, they were informed that they could only collect their pokeballs the next morning. They had decided to delay their search for Team Rocket until then.

The gang had managed to get 2 rooms at the pokecentre to stay and were now wandering outside of the pokecentre. Ash's stomach rumbled. He looked up slightly embarrassed. "Eh. I'm slightly hungry. Can we go eat?"

Misty rolled her eyes. "You're always hungry." Ash was about to retort. Brock was afraid that a fight was about to start when suddenly, another louder, rumbling noise was heard. Misty blushed.

"Err.. I guess I'm hungry too. Let's go eat! What a great idea, Ash!" She gave a small embarrassed smile.

They looked around for a place to eat and decided to settle on a pizza parlor across the Pokecentre. However, they had barely entered when 2 clothed chefs materialized in front of them suddenly. They looked vaguely familiar.

"Prepare to gobble."

"Up right on the double."

"To protect the world from starvation."

"To unite all pasta lovers within our nation."  
  


"To denounce the evils of hunger and horrible tasting food."

"To extend our tastebuds to a standard that's good."

"Jessie." The figure on the left stepped forward her long red hair flung back as she brandished a frying pan.

"James." The figure on the right sprung forward with a rose in his hand, a glint of blue hair peeking out from under the tall chef's hat.

"Our pizza parlor blasts off at the speed of light."

"If you don't queue now, you'll have to fight."

"Meowth, that's right!" The talking cat pokemon appeared from the middle and jumped out in front of them, holding a can of anchovies, it's bright charm gleaming in the bright pizza parlor lights. 

Ash, Misty and Brock facefaulted. "Jessie, James and Meowth??" A few years back, the officer Jennies had mounted a huge raid on Team Rocket after their activities had got more and more out of hand. Many of the Team Rocket agents had been caught and ever since, Team Rocket had gone underground. Last they heard, Jessie, James and Meowth had served their time in prison before they quit Team Rocket and went straight.

And now here they were, apparently the owners of this flashy pizza parlor. And there was no mistaking that motto…

Jessie muttered annoyed after they had finished the motto. "How do you know who we…" before she was interrupted mid sentence by James. James looked shocked. "Jessie! It's the twerps! The ones with the Pikachu that we've never managed to caught when we were back in Team Rocket…"

Ash's stomach rumbled again. He looked on embarrassed. Jessie grinned. "James, get them a on the house special. Then we'll talk." "Right on the double Jess," James replied before disappearing.

Meowth ushered the gang to their seats. "Your meals coming right up! Meowth seyz that you haven't lived life until you tasted a special!"

~-~

"So you and James are engaged to be married? Congratulations!" Misty asked Jessie incredulously over their pizza. Meowth was right. The pizza was goooodd. It was the size of almost the whole table, with three inch sized toppings of every single pizza topping imaginable to mankind. Misty had never seen so many different things on a pizza all at once before. It had ham, turkey, bacon, seafood, pineapple, anchovies, sardines, tuna, extra cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes, every single thing. It was a good thing they were all hungry too. Or they would never have hope of finishing it.

Jessie grinned. She chomped down her pizza before replying. "Yep, we got together seriously soon after we quit Team Rocket. It just felt right. We had been partners for so long and we felt that it was time to move things up to another level. One thing led to another, and there we have it. We're going to be married in three months."

Brock tucked in to yet another slice of the gigantic pasta dish. "I must say though, you guys make good pizza."

James walked by from the kitchen and leaned in upon hearing this comment. "You can say that again. Profits have been rolling in. Next year, we'll probably be opening a few more branches. You can expect to see Jessie and James Pizza Parlor store signs all over Fuchsia, Cerulean and Vermillion city." He blew a kiss to Jessie, and they started exchanging lovey dovey looks.

Meowth chipped in. "With me as it's official mascot of course." He cast a sidelong glance to absorbed Jessie and James. "So, what brings you twerps to Celadon?"

Ash frowned. He exchanged glances with Brock, Misty and Andrea. "We're investigating a drug called TMX which Team Rocket has been using to create giant superpowered pokemon. We were hoping that you would be able to give us some insight into this. I mean, you guys were supposed to be their best agents at one time. In all your years in Team Rocket did you ever hear of this thing?"

Jessie and James paused and exchanged a serious look. James turned around and faced Ash. His face shaded at the mention of Team Rocket, a separate life that he, Jessie and Meowth had once led, one that he detested immensely now. He frowned at it's mentioned. "We heard about this TMX project through some rumors when we were still with Team Rocket. The TMX project was supposed to be the most top secret of all Rocket projects. I know they spent years of research on it, and a lot of the activities we used to carry out were in order to fund it. Nobody except the boss and the people involved in it knows very much about it. It was supposed to be the be all and end all of all rocket projects."

Meowth spoke up. "Once, when I was still the bosses' top cat, he used to talk aloud a lot in my presence. Once I vaguely recall him saying something like if this TMX project succeeded, there would be nobody to challenge Team Rocket anymore."

Brock asked. "Do you have any idea where the research labs for TMX are? Or any of their present bases?"

The ex-rocket trio scratched their heads. "Actually, no. I think Team Rocket had at least one other base here in Celadon though. I know their main base was extremely top secret and located in some unknown part of the southern islands."

Ash sighed. "Oh well, since we won't get our pokemon back till tomorrow I guess we can just take a break from all the traveling we've been doing today."

The gang agreed, and they continued to tuck in. 

~-~

Ash burped. "I still can't believe we managed to finish that pizza. I mean, it was like, HUGE."

Misty giggled. "You should ask yourself that. You ate most of it."

Ash groaned. He waddled along as he rubbed his stomach. "Don't remind me…I don't think I can eat again for the next few days. They sure do know how to make pizza though. It was good."

Ash, Misty, Brock and Andrea had miraculously finished the pizza before wandering outside the pizza parlor and wondering what to do in their free time. Andrea wanted to go watch a movie, a suggestion to which Brock had immediately agreed. When Ash and Misty had then also expressed interest in the movie, Brock had dragged them aside and given them a good talking to. In the end, a bargain had been struck, and Ash had declared himself to be too full to go watch a movie while Misty had a sudden change of heart and said that she didn't feel like watching a movie right now. They waved and parted ways. Brock and Andrea headed towards the cinema, while Ash and Misty decided to take a stroll in the park. Ash and Misty had come out of the bargain slightly better off financially in the deal thanks to Brock's generosity. 

"Oh man, I don't believe Brock gave us fifty bucks just so that he could have an evening alone with Andrea." Ash exclaimed.

Misty smiled. "Brock. He never changes. Still the same old girl crazy Brock."

"It seems like he's really into Andrea though. More than usual. And at least he hasn't really been in his crazy 'girl mode' around her."

"Yeah, I hope it works out. He deserves someone after all those rejections don't you think?"

Ash grinned in reply. They walked on quietly for a few moments. The afternoon sun disappeared for a moment behind some passing clouds. A cool breeze blew, disarranging some strands in Ash's longish black hair, making the untidy hair appear even more unruly. Misty's shoulder length hair flapped in the wind, the fiery red mane seeming to have a life of it's own. They walked on, enjoying the surroundings, and the rare moment that they had alone in each other's company. Though they would never admit it.

Ash paused in step. He turned around to his red haired companioned and cocked a smile. "So Mist, you want to go anywhere in particular?"

Misty pouted. "I thought you were too full to go anywhere. Anyway, I just wanted to enjoy the walk. Isn't walking in the park just so romantic?" She rolled her eyes, even as she sighed inwardly. "Even though you'll probably never appreciate that."

Before Ash could retort, Misty's eyes lighted up. "I know, let's go to the lakeside. Then we can go fishing for wild pokemon." Before Ash could reply, she was already on the run, dragging Ash behind her.

Ash tried to take in the new change of plan. "I thought you wanted to take a walk in the park."

"I changed my mind."

"How are we going to catch any wild pokemon if we don't have any pokemon with us?"

"We have our pokeballs, maybe we can catch some magikarp or something."

"How come you can drag me around like this? Watch it, I'm still quite full you know."  
  


"Well Mr Pokemon Master, you still owe me a bike."

"…"

Ash decided to give in as he was dragged along. There was nothing else he could do anyway. Better to just let Misty have her own way. Otherwise, he'll probably be revisiting old memories of her mallet he thought wryly. Anyway, he didn't mind being dragged about by Misty one bit.

Not that he'll ever admit it. He was too stubborn for that.

~-~

Ash lay back on the grassy hillslope bank by the lakeside watching the clouds float by. "Ah. This is the life eh Mist?"

Misty gave an amused smile as she lay back also on the grassy hillslope. She held a fishing rod casually in her right hand, waiting the for the slightest sign of a snag. A few pokeballs rolled lazily at her side. She had caught four magikarp already. "Ash Ketchum, you always were the bum."

Ash arched his eyebrow. "Bum? Me? I'm very full and just don't feel like moving. Besides," He turned to look at Misty. "Aren't you doing the same thing?"

Misty turned also with an indignant look. "I'm fishing!"

Ash snorted. "Yeah right, for magikarp."

Just then, the line twitched. Misty exclaimed and sat up. "Got another!" she called out triumphantly, reeling it in as fast as she could. The tension in the line grew. Suddenly, the hooked magikarp burst out of the water, flying by the sudden release in tension. It landed directly on Ash's head and flopped around with it's tail.

"mmph." Ash could only splutter as he got a face full of magikarp. Misty had a pokeball in hand waiting to capture the magikarp, but took one look at Ash's chagrined face and could only fall down and roll in the grass in laughter. "mmph…what are you…mmph…waiting for Misty….mmph…Capture him!" Ash could only gasp out as the magicarp turned and slapped his face repeatedly with it's tail. Misty only continued laughing at the comical scene.

The afternoon wore on as Ash and Misty relaxed by the lake.

~-~

The sun was setting when Misty decided that she had enough magikarp and they decided to turn back to the pokecentre. They packed up, and took a leisurely stroll, cutting through the park as they headed in the direction of the pokecentre. Ash turned and cast a glance at Misty. She looked so beautiful as she walked alongside him in the sunset. The dying rays of the sun reflected off her red hair, giving it an ethereal sheen. She looked happy, obviously enjoying the moment. Ash willed up his courage. He spoke shyly.

"You know, Misty, I really enjoyed your company today."  
  


Misty blushed. She turned around, her eyes twinkling slightly. "I enjoyed yours too"

Ash felt elated. However, just as he was about to say something more, the two heard a small chuckle and slow applause from behind them. Sensing danger, Ash and Misty paused in step and quickly turned around. Behind them stood two figures in long flowing trench coats and peaked caps. Their facial features were shadowed, but there was no mistaking the small blood red R insignia that was fixed on their shoulder patches. Ash cursed himself mentally for not having seen them sooner. He also realized, that their pokemon were still at the pokecentre. Ash and Misty exchanged looks. They were defenseless.

One of the unknown men spoke up. His voice was cold and his articulation crisp. "Well, well. What do we have here. Sorry to have broke up your… little scene." Ash and Misty's faces flushed. An evil grin appeared on the man's face. "But, we'll make it quick." Ash grabbed Misty's hand and suddenly made a run for it.

The first man spoke up again. "Oh no you don't. Prepare for trouble."

The second man took a step forward. "And make that double." As Ash and Misty continued to sprint away from the two long coated sinister agents, Ash looked over his shoulder only to see the second man bring out a small shape from his coat. The man expanded it. Ash was surprised to see that it was not built in the shape of a normal pokeball, but instead when fully expanded was the size of a soccer ball and weirdly tetrahedral in shape. The man pressed a button on the tetrahedral even as Ash widened the distance between him and the men. "Pokeball go." A thin amethyst coloured laser shot out from behind Ash. "Gentlemen, I present to you the power of Arbokx." The shape of the materialized pokemon from the laser grew bigger and bigger behind Ash. He started to get a bad feeling in his gut and picked up speed, pulling Misty along. They were only less than half a kilometer from the main road. They had to make it.

Misty looked back and gasped, even as she continued running. Her heart sank. An Arbok bigger than an Onix appeared directly behind them. It's eyes were mad with rage, it's crazed expression showing that it was devoid of reason. It was definitely TMX treated and scuttled with such speed after them that it was impossible to outrun. Gliding after the escaping couple, it had already covered more than half the distance between them and the men. With a mighty swish of it's tail, the giant snake suddenly leapt up a short distance into the air, and plunged itself into the earth and disappeared from sight.

Misty continued running. "Where did it g…" "Shh.." Ash cocked his head to the side and interrupted Misty. He motioned for silence, his face a picture of concentration. As they sprinted for their life, Ash grasped Misty's hand tighter. They were almost at the main road now.

All of the sudden, Misty felt it too. Her only warning was a faint tremor from beneath the sidewalk. In the blink of an eye, Ash's face fixed. He gave Misty a sudden shove towards the left side of the pavement as he leapt for dear life for the opposing side. They were not a moment too soon as the patch of concrete which they had just been running on abruptly shattered into a thousand fragments as the enraged head of the giant Arbok ploughed through. It gave a monstrous roar as it dug out of the sidewalk, extending itself to it's full height before giving out another enraged cry at having missed it's target.

Misty hit the bush on the opposing side of the sidewalk slightly stunned, but otherwise alright as the bush broke her fall. A few shards of concrete rebounded off her back. Sprawling on the ground, she managed to scrabble to her feet as the gigantic shadow of the pokemon fell over her. Ash had recovered from the shock of the fall and was already on his feet. He looked grim as he surveyed the giant pokemon ahead of them. Behind it, he could already see the main road just less than a hundred yards away. So near, yet so far. Ash looked around in desperation for a means to escape.

Behind them, one of the men in the trenchcoats straightened. He pursed his lips into the shape of a sardonic smile. "Impressive. Still, your exertions are to no avail." The second man hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his coat and sighed. "Alas, however fun this may be, the boss wants you alive." He withdrew the tetrahedron from his hand and pushed a button. The giant pokemon although enraged, seem to respond. "Arbokx, Glare!"

Ash and Misty were helpless under the powerful glare of the snake. Paralyzed, they were helpless as the first man withdrew a pokeball from his coat and called out a mushroom shaped pokemon. Ash heard the given command. "Parasect, Spore!"

And then his world faded into darkness.

~-~

Brock stepped out of the cinema and gazed down the street. The road was already quite deserted as he and Andrea had been the last to leave. Andrea had excused herself to visit the washroom. Brock waited alone at the cinema steps. He was on cloud nine. The fifty bucks that he paid Ash and Misty to keep out of the way for the afternoon had certainly been worth it, he mused, as he winced at the recollections of some of the more painful rejections that he had in the past ten years of his life. He hoped that Andrea had enjoyed herself. He certainly had.

The evening was quiet, as the cinema they had went to was located in a rather out of way spot, and there were no other shows until more than an hour later. Brock heard the distant sound of a toilet flushing followed by a flowing tap. Very soon, Andrea emerged from the toilet and walked up beside Brock.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She flashed a grin. "Thanks for the movie. I haven't watched one in ages." Brock's knees buckled slightly as she smiled at him.

They began walking in the direction of the pokecentre. Andrea asked him some questions about pokemon breeding, a topic which Brock eagerly delved into. As they walked, Brock gradually lost some of his self-consciousness around Andrea. She seemed quite interested as he talked aboutpokemon breeding. Brock frowned as he saw a barrier ahead blocking the road they were walking on. The road was closed for repairs. The couple turned into a nearby side alley which would also lead them to the pokecentre.

"And so you see, the way you bring up different pokemon would differ according to their types. Different pokemon have different temperaments." Brock paused, as they continued up the alley. "Say, what pokemon do you have?"

Andrea flashed a grin which showed both her dimples. "Oh yeah, that's right, I haven't showed you guys my pokemon yet. I'll show you back at the pokecentre. I train different types, to have a mix, so I'm not particularly disadvantaged against certain types of pokemon." Suddenly she stopped, her smile vanishing. "I think we're being followed."

Brock's eyes flitted around his surroundings. They were in a middle of a dark alleyway. Ahead of him, he could see that the alleyway opening was still a distance away. A stray cat shrieked. Brock thought that he sensed a movement in front of him. He suddenly realized that their pokemon were rejuvenating in the pokemon centre, and that they were defenseless.

The silence in the alley was now almost oppressive. Andrea turned her head slightly. She could see the reflection of two shadowed figures in a puddle on her right. She gripped Brock's hand as a signal. Brock increased his walking pace.

A slight drizzle of rain started abruptly. The couple increased their speed to a dash through the alley. Splashes made, when their feet made contact with the puddles could be heard. Brock strained his ears. He could hear faint footsteps of their pursuers behind him.

Two hooded figures appeared in front of them. Brock and Andrea stopped running. They turned around. Behind them, another two similar figures stood. Brock heard Andrea curse under her breath. They were trapped. He noticed a small blood red R insignia on each of their left shoulders.

One of the figures spoke up. "Well well, it seems that we've found another two of those troublemakers that the boss is so interested in. Come on boys," He directed. "Seize them."

Brock looked round warily as the men advanced. His mind raced. The road blockage was a setup. They were wanted somehow by Team Rocket. He parried a blow from the nearest advancing man, taking it on his side and using the momentum to turn and swing a heavy punch of his own. His fist connected with the man's stomach, knocking the air out of him and pushing him back crashing against the alley wall. Brock grinned. His years of training with rock pokemon had not been wasted.

Brock was interrupted as he heard a scream from his left. Another man had grabbed Andrea by her wrists from behind. Struggling, Andrea screamed and stepped back as if shocked and helpless. Suddenly however, she brought up her left leg and kneed the man in the crotch. Grunting in pain, the man let go of her and doubled over. Andrea followed through with a rising kick to his chest as he was doubling over, adding force to the blow and knocking him back. A third man sneaked up behind her though. Brock tried to lunge for him but was abruptly knocked off his feet and landed with a splash in a puddle on the alleyway. The third man knocked Andrea unconscious from behind and she collapsed on the alley floor.

The leader got up. He was breathing hard. His lips curled in a sneer. "So, you want to play it rough don't you?" He snapped his fingers. Brock had a bad feeling as he saw the four men standing in front of him. Andrea was collapsed on the floor behind them. He knew he could probably take on two or three of them, but the odds weren't good. Two of the men stepped forward in response to the leader's snap of the fingers. Silently, they released two pokeballs. The leader grinned evily again.

"Machokes, bring him into submission!"

Brock gulped as he stood at ready with his fists brought up. The two menacing pokemon of all muscle towered over him as they advanced. The odds just got worse. Brock swung at one and connected, without much effect however.

His last memories were of being pounded repeatedly as the men looked on. And then darkness crossed his vision.

~-~

Brock stirred and awoke to a violent headache. His temples throbbed. Brock felt that he had just been run over by a Snorlax. As the graying in his vision cleared, Brock realized that he was lying on a stone floor, and that there was somebody crouching next to him apparently speaking to him. As the haze started to clear, the memories of what had happened came back to him, and the words of Andrea's concern from next to him became coherent.

"Are you ok Brock?" Andrea spoke with concern as she knelt down beside him and helped him to sit up. "You were out cold longer than the rest of us." She winced as her eyes surveyed all the cuts and bruises that Brock had taken from the Machokes. "You were done in the most violent way too."

Brock rubbed a knock on his head and groaned. "I sure feel like it too." His eyes wandered around the cell. Ash and Misty were inspecting the bars of the jail cell for a means to escape. The four of them had been locked up in a room. The room's walls, roof and floor, except for one wall which made the entrance, was made of a whole smooth surface of shiny metal which had no breaks. The last wall was barred by a number of strong barricades from floor to ceiling. Brock saw Ash throw his weight in an attempt to test the strength of the bars, but he only rebounded off without a budge. Misty was examining the lock. She looked up and shook her head. Brock hazarded a query. "Where are we?"

Ash looked up. "Celadon City. Team Rocket's HQ."

(To be continued…)

~-~

Woohoo. I made it before my self imposed deadline of Christmas. Heh. Where I am, it's less than an hour before Christmas day, so well, I guess I cut it close. Sorry, but I was on holiday.

I had more ideas to fit in this actually, but I guess they'll come on the next part. I'll try and get it done by the end of the week. Hint : Something's going to happen to all of them inside the HQ. 

If you didn't like something about it, do let me know, in the goal of improving myself. I'm thinking of looking for a beta reader. 

Please review. I love C&C. [yulai@singnet.com.sg][1] or [cypherwerf@hotmail.com][2]

   [1]: mailto:yulai@singnet.com.sg
   [2]: mailto:cypherwerf@hotmail.com



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